ARLES.- Lee Ufan Arles presents this summer at the Hôtel Vernon a unique dialogue between Michelangelo Pistoletto and Lee Ufan. Born three years apart in different cultural and geographical contexts, the Italian (1933) and the Korean (1936) have left a lasting mark on the history of contemporary art.

Associated with Arte Povera in the case of Pistoletto and with the Mono-Ha movement for Ufan, these artists have created works that question the object and its relationship to its architectural envelope, as well as to the viewer. Even though the paths taken by each appear, at first glance, to be distinctly different on an aesthetic level, the perspectives drawn by this encounter reveal an unexpected field of convergence.

Invited to occupy the MA Space, Michelangelo Pistoletto has imagined a journey that reflects the diversity of his work. Centered around a dense selection of recent and historical works, it is also complemented by some incursions and 'integrations' into the rooms dedicated to the host of the exhibition. A conversation emerges around unifying themes, starting with the question of infinity that runs through their trajectories.

The place given to the viewer, a sense of simplicity, and minimalism are other shared values and elements between these creators, who meet here for this exhibition.

Author: Erik Verhagen

On the occasion of the exhibition A Conversation Piece. Michelangelo Pistoletto and Lee Ufan in Dialogue, the two artists will engage in a conversation during a conference at the Théâtre d'Arles, hosted by Emma Lavigne, on July 8th at 4:00 PM.

Location: Théâtre d'Arles, Boulevard Georges Clemenceau, Arles

Free upon reservation

Lee Ufan was born in Korea in 1936 and lives and works in Paris, New York and Japan. He is the artist theoretician of the avant-garde movement Mono-ha ("the school of things"), a Japanese artistic movement that developed in parallel with minimalist and radical movements. Mono-ha is often considered to be very close to the attitudes and choices that nourished Arte Povera in Europe.

Lee Ufan's sculptures are presented as connections between stones or wood chosen from nature and industrial materials, while his painting tends towards a single sign, towards meditation and the evocation of emptiness.